Mold for fireproof floors.



C. B. SMITH.

MOLD FOR FIREPROOF FLOORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. I914.

Patented June 13, 1916 W1TNES\SES.- 261% MW WWWQJ A TTORNE Y.

'I COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH 60-, WASHINGTON, n. c.

CHARLES B. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MOLD FOR FIREPROOF FLOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented J 111mg 13, 191% Applicationfiled March 26, 1914. Serial No. 827,458.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of the Bronx, in the city of New York, N. Y.,civil engineer, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inMolds for Fireproof Floors, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates mainly to the holding up of the semi-fluid mass.

I will describe the plastic material to be molded as medium qualityconcrete.

I have devised a construction and mode of operation of the molding partswhich improves the holding up of the form, serves to mold the lowerportion of the concrete, and also aids in the removal of the form whenthe concrete is sufiiciently set to stand alone. 011 large jobs a numberof sets of the apparatus, sometimes running up into the hundreds, isrequired in order to be able to allow each to remain a suflicient timewith the forms in place. The expense of supplying a large number ismoderate. The strains are slight. All the parts of the several sets maybe interchangeable. Much of the material may be wood. The whole lotexcept for accidents may be used again indefinitely with or withoutroughly cleaning.

The following is a detailed description of good means for carrying outthe invention.

A number of sets of the apparatus are re quired to carry forward largeenterprises with reasonable speed but as all may be alike a descriptionof one set may serve for all. It will be understood that the parts atone end to serve on one girder or I-beam lie in the reversed relationsto those on the opposite end.

I shall term all the parts of my apparatus which are applied and removedtogether and take care of the filling between one I-beam and the next asone double series.

Figure 1 is a nearly complete sideelevation of one double series with alittle of the adjacent series at each end. I will term the right andleft of Fig. 1 the ends. The strong lines show the condition for holdingto harden. The dotted lines show a commencement of the movements forwithdrawing the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line,22 in Fig. 1.

' Fig. 3 is a corresponding side view of a portion in the act of beinghooked or unhooked. The dotted lines on the left show the approximateposition of the hook relatively to its I-beam, when my invention isbeing raised into position for work or is being lowered after anoperation. The dotted l1nes on the right show the position when the hookis being turned or rolled, to engage or release. Fig. 4 is a perspectiveVIGW of some of the principal parts. It is devised to show clearly theconstruction and the action. It requires special explanation to informthe reader that it is an unusual attempt to show in the full strongl1nes of complete representation, the parts holding like Fig. 1 and alsoreleasing like Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 show what I term a shield detached,the former showing a perspective view and the latter a plan view of theshield. Fig. 7 shows in perspective two shields as they serve under oneI-beam, forming part of one series.

Similar letters or figures or both indicate corresponding parts in allthe figures where they appear.

I will describe the invention as applied to one of the stories of alarge building making a floor of an ordinary long approved character.

M are the I-beams strongly and permanently supported as usual upon thebase members F, the concrete being molded in the space 0 between eachand the next.

.A are straight angle-irons bolted perma: nently together.

A are splice pieces of plane steel andA are bolts and nuts insertedthrough slots 0; which may be shifted and readjusted to adapt theinvention to a wide range of distances apart of the I'beams. The twoangle irons areheld a sufiicient distance apart and the free spacebetween not occupied by the splice-pieces accommodates two hooks D whichmay be moved up and down and in clined as required.

E is a hand lever secured by a pivot E at its bent end extending through'a hole at at the proper level on the shank of the hook.

Each hook D has a number of holes 0? and is loosely covered by a pair ofmatched shields, CG, one sufliciently wider than the other to partiallyembrace it, each partly circular in outline and-thinner laterally at thetop than at thebottom. The hook is peculiarly perforated and performsimportant functions. These shields are secured to the base members F,see Fig. it, in any suitable manner, as by means passed through openings in the ends of the shields. One of .-these openingsis seen at'theleft of Fig. 7.

The arrangement allows the pivot and its lever to be adjusted up anddown on the hook.

' as shown by b and are attached to AA by a pivot.

H is a taper key driven through the proper slots and capable of beingadjusted up and down to correspondingly hold the connected hook. v

When the parts are properly placed and all is ready the operator liftsthe handle at the free end of the hand lever E and guides it between thelinks B and presses such lever upward until its arm E engages under theangle-bars A and their splice piece A and serves as a fulcrum to drawdownward the hook D as the handle of the lever E is forcibly lifted andsecured by the key H.

G is an arch having the required curvature applied from above, abuttingagainst the bottom flanges of the I-beams. This arch is of thin butrigid material, it may be wood faced on the upper side with thin steel.It is notched to allow for the shield. Now the whole of the spacebetween the beams which lies above the arch G or any portion of thewidth of such space may receive its filling of concrete and be gentlyrammed if desired. The slowly hardening concrete must now of courseremain undisturbed until it has set sufliciently to maintain its shape.7 v

If hollow tiles are employed in the filling, the invention is applied inthe same way, simply sinking the lighter tiles. of the proper size andshape into the space provided for the filling and supplying only theremainder of such space with the plastic material.

After a delay of a few days they parts are operated to remove myapparatus. It can best be donewhile the freshly molded concrete is stillgreen but hard enough to maintain its form. The key H is extracted, thelever E may drop a little by gravity, the operator forces it down far- Ither,runtil .it lies vertically along-side the shank of the hook D. Thiscondition is shown in the dotted lines in the lower part of Fig. 1 Forceshould now be applied as required at each end to liberate the hooks andallow my temporary parts to drop completely away. It will be often thecase that the work will stick. Now one pulls the hand lever of the leftend to the left as shown by the inclined position in Fig. 4, whileanother pulls the corresponding hand lever of the right end to theright. Each hook forcibly makes a partial revolution, the left one hasits bottom swung to'the left and its hooked top to the right, whicheffects the unhooking.

The arrangement of the levers E gives the advantage that the power ofthe hand may be applied to promote the engagement of the hook and alsothat the same power may be applied under the very different conditionsof the material in extracting the hook from its engagement andliberating the parts, a few days later. The fulcrum on which each leverthus turns in the liberating act, and the samein the less diffi cult actof attaching, can vary automatically to meet the changes in the strain,but

each is always near the edge of the bottom flange of its respectiveI-beam. The long arm may extend down inches while the short arm has verylittleappreciable length.

It is frequently" desired to not only fill 1? with the concrete thewhole or a principal portion of the space between the I-beams, but alsoto let the concrete lie about an inch undereach I-beam, and to also flowit to about the same amount above the top of the I-beams. This protectsthe iron from' becoming so soon heated in case of fire above or below. 7

I attain the first condition by means of a bottom part of the shieldholding the string pieces AA adjusted at a proper distance below theI-beam making the adjustment of the other parts to correspond. The'eflect is that the concrete will leak through so little as, to leave asufficient cavity underneath the I-beam in which the tails or shanks ofthe hooks D may rise sufiiciently in the act of liberating the partsafter the concrete is hardened.

When the operation is complete, and the straight angle irons A and theboard F and their several attachments, all except the shield CC, areremoved, by being lowered, the shields will remain in place andsometimes require considerable labor to detach them but it is easy toget access to them now. Certainly there will be the following operationsto be performed by hand First the filling with a trowel by hand of thespace under the I-beam which was protected so that it could not beproperly filled before, and second the filling the spaces where theshield had been.

The top of the I-beam may be covered to crete has intruded and hardenedwithin.

The circular form of the corresponding part of the hook D contributes,to the same end. After the hook has been rolled out of its engagementwith the I-beam at each end, the parts forming my invention may becarried to a new place and be used again.

Modifications may be made with various qualities of cement and stonewithout departing from the principle or sacrificing all the advantagesof the invention. Parts may be omitted, such as the adjustment fordifferent distances between the I-beams. I can omit the thin arch Gespecially when using tiles. The invention will apply with some successto roofs and to horizontal or moderately inclined partitions of any nameor for any purpose. I use the word floor to indicate any analogous partof a building.

Observe that the shield C performs three functions, first it-acts as agage for the thickness between the I-beam and the parts below, second itpreserves a cavity into which the hook may be lifted in the act ofturning it to liberate the whole, and third it acts as a shield toprotect the hook from adhesion. Despite the oiling concrete is liable tostick to iron. The shield can be liberated at leisure after the otherparts have been removed, but the hook cannot be reached since the shieldprotects it almost entirely. The shield can be made to fit tight enoughto the carefully and smoothly notched arch without leaking down to makeserious disturbance.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a support for the molding of fireproof floors, hooks engaginggirders for supporting cross members, and shields comprising oppositelydisposed hollow parts adjustable with relation to each other, each parthaving its upper portion fitted over one of said hooks to protect thesame during the pouring of the mold, the parts being fitted withapproximate tightness and adapted to be separated upon giving a rollingmotion to the hook to withdraw the point.

2. In a support for the molding of fireproof floors, hooks engaginggirders for supporting cross members, and shields comprising oppositelydisposed hollow parts adjustable with relation to each other, each parthaving its upper portion fitted over one of said hooks to protect thesame during the pouring of the mold, the parts being fitted withapproximate tightness and adapted to be separated upon giving a rollingmotion to the hook to withdraw the point, each shield having its lowerportion made with corresponding parallel surfaces to serve as a gage todetermine the thickness of 1the bottom layer of the fireproof materia 3.A support for fireproof material to be molded in place to constitute afloor, comprising a hollow shield with rounded. portion and an extensionto engage beneath a beam, a lever having a short spread arm on its upperside and made in two parts, one of which is hook form at the top, havingits upper portion fitted to the rounded part of said shield and arrangedto perform the double function of gripping the lower flange ofthe I-beamand holding for any period and by being turned to liberate itself fromthe I-beam adapted to be driven into holes in guide links and alsoadapted to receive a strong rolling motion to withdraw it.

4. In a support for fireproof material in a floor the combination withthe hook arranged to engage and release an I-beam and a closely fittinghollow shield having an extended portion to engage beneath a beam and aninterior form of circular section adapted to allow the hook to bewithdrawn by rolling motion without disturbing much material.

5. In a mold for fireproof floors, a hook carried on one part engaginganother part by rolling motion, a lever controlling such hook beingfastened thereto by a pivot, links receiving such lever and havingperforations and a crosskey to serve therein all arranged to allow thelever to escape by withdrawing the crosskey and to serve in the oppositedirection as a longer lever to give it more leverage in disengaging.

Signed at New York city, inthe county of New York and State of New York,this 25th day of March, A. D. 1914:.

CHARLES B. SMITH.

Witnesses:

S. H. STonnER, THOMAS DREW STE'I'SON.

@oplea of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 0! Patents Washington, D. 0."

